Marionette toy



Dec. l5, 1953 WILLIAM (Bu.) BRlT-roN BAIRD 2,662,338

MARIONETTE TOY Filed Aug. l5 1951 muv 7 TTORNEYS Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to a controller for a marionette toy which substantially eliminates tangling of the strings and makes the toy easy for children to manipulate.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a control assembly for a marionette which keeps the strings untangled even when the toy is laid aside. This is accomplished by attaching a stiff but resilient wire from the body of the marionette to a pair of cross-bars so that they are always held a set distance apart. The strings for manipulating the toy are tied to various parts of its body and to the cross-bars and as the bars are moved up and down, the marionette simulates natural body movement and performs as desired. Two marionettes may be easily handled at the same time because my controller is adapted to be worked with one hand and as the stringsl are always held outstretched by the cross-bars, there is no tendency for them to tangle.

The nature of this invention may be readily understood by reference to the example shown in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a perspective view of my improved marionette and Fig. 2 is a detailed perspective rear View partially cut away to better illustrate construction of the marionette.

In the drawing, marionette I simulates a human body with a torso I2 comprising an upper member i4 and a lower member I6. The members are joined together by a strip of cloth I8 which enables the marionette to bend forward at the waist and at the same time prevents any appreciable back-bending. Head unit 28 is supported in opening 22 of upper member I4 by means of a pin 24 which passes through hole 26 in the base of the head unit. The diameter of hole 26 is considerably larger than that of pin 24 and as a result, head unit 20 is free to rock in any direction in opening 22.

Each arm 28 is formed with a strip of ilexible cloth 30 attached at one end to shoulder 32 of torso I2 and at the other end to hand and .forearm 34. A stiiener 36 is attached to the cloth between shoulder 32 and forearm 34 in order to give the arms natural elbow and shoulder movement.

Each leg 38 is divided into a thigh 4I] and a lower leg 42 and held together at knee 44 by a strip of cloth 46 which is imbedded in slits 48. Both thigh 40 and lower leg 42 are tapered to the rear of slits 48 to allow the leg to bend naturally. Legs 38 are held in slots 58 of lower member I6 by means of a pin 52 which passes through a tongue 54 at the top of each leg. To

allow for forward movement of thigh 48, the top of tongue 52 and the bottom edge of lower member I6 are rounded off as indicated at 55 and 56 respectively. Forward movement is limited by the top of thigh 40 which hits against the front of lower member I6 and movement to the rear is limited by the top of tongue 52 which hits against the bottom of lower member I6 when the leg is outstretched.

Controller 58 comprises a pair of cross-bars 60 and 62 which are pivotally mounted on a stiff but resiilent wire 64. The bars are separated from each other by collar 66 and held in place by stop 68 and collar 10. Just beyond collar 'I0 the wire is coiled to form spring 'I2 and at its lower end it is pivotally mounted in slot 'I4 of upper member I4 by means of loop 'I6 and pin 18. The ends of each cross-bar are slit and notched as indicated at 88 to provide an adjustable attachment for manipulating strings 82. The strings are attached by pulling them through the slits and wrapping the excess string around the notched portion of the bars. In the example shown the strings at each end of bar vIill are connected with legs 38 and the strings on bar 62 are connected with either side of head unit 28. The string for arms 28 is in one piece and is held in loop 84 of stop 68. A loop of heavy cord 86 attached to bar 62 provides a convenient means for holding the control assembly when the toy is in use and a pair of lugs 88 are attached to bar 60 on either side of stop 68 to keep rotation of this bar within working limits.

With this construction, my marionette is easily manipulated and can be made to simulate most of the normal body movements. Even the head may be lowered while the body remains in an upright position throughVv the added flexibility given the controller by spring 12. However, wire 64 always remains sti. enough to hold the crossbars at a set distance above the marionette to keep the strings untang-led.

The marionette readily lends itself to mass production and may be made of wood. plastic or the like. In the example shown the various body members are made of Wood and joined together by strips of flexible cloth which may be attached to the body by any suitable means such as an adhesive or small tacks.

It will be understood that it is intended to cover all changes and modiileations of the preferred embodiment of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a. marionette toy of the type having a torso with a movable head and jointed arm and leg members with manipulating cords attached to each of said arm and leg members and to each side of the head for controlling the movement of said head, arm and leg members, the combination which comprises a stiff but resilient generally L-shaped wire, means for pivotally attaching the free end of the long leg of said L- shaped wire to the upper portion of the back of the torso of said marionette toy, and for holding a portion of the long leg of the wire at an acute angle with the said upper portion of the back of the torso to position the short leg aset distance above the top of said marionette toy when the toy is held in standing position, a pair of cross bars rotatively mounted on the shortA leg of said L-shaped wirefmeans for spacing the cross bars on said wire and said cross bars being attached at their end portions to said cords 4 whereby rotation of the cross bars results in movement of various parts of said marionette toy and tangling of the cords is substantially eliminated.

2. A structure as specied in claim 1 in which the generally L-shaped wire is coiled to form a. spring between its short and long legs to give added flexibility.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1 which includes means for holding the cross bars under the fingers of the operators hand whereby one operator can manipulate two marionette toys.

WILLIAM (BIL) BRI'ITON BAIRD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,193,493 Colvin Aug. 1, 1916 1,788,671 Heideklang Jan. 13, 1931 1,987,528 Fukumoto .V Jan. 8, 1935, 

